The present invention relates to a recordable media storage device having magazines, each of which is capable of storing a plurality of recordable media, wherein said device is adapted to position each recordable media at a given location inside a magazine and remove the same therefrom.
There are various devices which store numerous recordable media, magnetically or optically, containing information therein in a magazine or magazines. The devices position the recordable media at a given location or locations inside the magazines and remove the same therefrom. An example of such a device is a disk changing apparatus.
A disk changing apparatus typically stores a large number of disk-shaped recordable media such as CDs or DVDs in magazines and is provided with a drive unit for magnetically or optically recording onto and playing information stored on the disks. The disk changing apparatus is further adapted to set a disk from a magazine into the drive unit and insert a disk from the drive unit into a magazine.
A typical structure of a conventional disk changing apparatus of the above type is explained hereunder, referring to FIGS. 13 and 14.
In FIGS. 13 and 14, numeral 11 denotes a body case. A front storage portion 13 and a rear storage portion 14, each of which is adapted to store therein vertically stacked recordable media (disks 12 in this case), are respectively provided at the front and rear parts of the interior of the body case 11. A vertically movable transfer mechanism 15 is disposed between the front storage portion 13 and the rear storage portion 14. The transfer mechanism 15 is adapted to be driven by a vertical motion drive mechanism 16 so as to move to a desired transfer position, i.e. a desired height, between the front and rear storage portions 13, 14.
An access mechanism 17 for inserting and removing disks 12 is disposed above the front storage portion 13. The access mechanism 17 is attached to a support plate 18 which is mounted on a ceiling surface 11a of the body case 11. The access mechanism 17 includes an access tray 19 which can be pulled partway out of the case body 11 and thus transport disks 12 back and forth between the exterior of the apparatus and the transfer mechanism 15. A plurality of drive units 20 (for example four units) for magnetically or optically performing reading and/or writing of disks 12 are vertically stacked and disposed below the rear storage portion 14. Each drive unit 20 has a driving tray 21 to transport a disk 12 to and from the transfer mechanism 15.
The transfer mechanism 15 is supported and guided on two vertically extending rails 23 to move up and down. As shown in FIG. 14, the two rails 23 are disposed to the left side of the interior of the body case 11, with the upper and the lower ends thereof attached to a rail plate 24. The vertical motion drive mechanism 16 includes a vertically extending timing belt 25 that vertically moves the transfer mechanism 15, which is affixed to the timing belt 25.
The timing belt 25 is wrapped around an upper pulley 27 and a timing pulley 30. The upper pulley 27 is supported by a pulley shaft 26 affixed to the upper part of the rail plate 24 by crimping. The timing pulley 30 is rotated by a vertical motion drive motor 28 through a worm gear 29, and is supported by a pulley shaft 30a affixed to the lower part of the rail plate 24 by crimping as shown in FIG. 14. The front storage portion 13 has a pair of laterally arranged front chassis 32 formed on the bottom 11b of the body case 11 as an integral body therewith. The inner space defined by the two chassis 32 is divided by a top plate 33 and magazine tables 34 into a plurality of levels, each of which serves as a magazine 35. Each disk 12 is placed on a magazine tray 36 which has a shape shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Each magazine 35 is adapted to store numerous disks 12 which are respectively placed on these magazine trays 36 which are vertically arranged. As shown in FIG. 14, a handle 37 on the front face of each magazine 35 permits the magazine 35 to be pulled out after opening a front door 38 of the body case 11.
In the same manner as the front storage portion 13, the rear storage portion 14 has a pair of laterally arranged rear chassis 40 formed on the bottom 11b of the body case 11 as an integral body therewith. Disposed in the inner space defined by the two chassis 40 is a pair of laterally arranged fixed racks 41 which form a plurality of shelves. Each shelf of the racks 41 is adapted to house a disk 12 which is placed on a magazine tray 36.
The conventional disk storage device shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 transports a disk as described herein. The access tray 19 is drawn out from the access mechanism 17. A disk 12 is then placed in the access tray 19. The access tray 19 is then pushed back into the access mechanism 17. In conjunction with this operation, a vertical motion drive motor 28 of the vertical motion drive mechanism 16 rotates the timing belt 25 through the worn gear 29 and the timing pulley 30, thereby elevating the transfer mechanism 15 to the same height as the access tray 19. Subsequently, the transfer mechanism 15 moves the disk 12 on the access tray 19 to the transfer mechanism 15.
After the disk 12 is moved to the transfer mechanism 15, the transfer mechanism 15 performs either one of the two transfer actions in accordance with the nature of the operation command.
A first transfer action transfers the disk 12 from or to a drive unit 20. A drive tray 21 is pulled out of a specified empty drive unit 20 according to a command to transfer the disk 12 to the drive unit 20. The transfer mechanism 15 moves to a location directly above the drive tray 2 that has been pulled out. The transfer mechanism 15 places the disk 12 on the drive tray 21. Thereafter, the drive tray 21 is retracted into the drive unit 20, and reading and/or writing of the disk 12 is performed. Similarly, the disk 12 can be received from the drive unit 20 in the reverse order of the above described process.
The other transfer action transfers the disk 12 back and forth between the transfer mechanism 15 and either a magazine 35 or the racks 41. According to a command, the transfer mechanism 15 containing the disk 12 moves either to a location corresponding to the magazine 35 at the front or a magazine tray 36 of the racks 41 at the rear of the body case. The transfer mechanism 15 then places the disk 12 either on the empty magazine 35 or the magazine tray 36. Through repetition of this action by the transfer mechanism 15, a plurality of disks 12 may be successively housed in the magazine 35 or magazine trays 36 of the racks 41 in the body case 11. Similarly, receiving a disk 12 from either a magazine 35 or the racks 41 is accomplished by reversing the order of the above described process.
The processes described above relate to cases where disks 12 are handled one at a time. The processes described above are inconvenient because too much time and labor is required when there is a large number of the disks 12 are to be processed by the access mechanism 17. This problem may be overcome by pulling out a magazine 35 itself from the body case 11 together with a plurality of magazine trays 36 that are contained in the magazine 35. The disks 12 can then be exchanged, replaced and/or reordered outside of the body case 11, and the magazine 35 can then be inserted back into the body case 11. By opening the front door 38, each and every magazine 35 disposed at the front part of the body case 11 can be moved into or out of the body case 11 as shown in FIG. 14.
As described above, according to the structure shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, it is possible to move the magazines 35 located at the front part of the body case 11 in and out of the body case 11. However, the racks 41 located at the rear part of the body case 11 are affixed to the case body 11 and cannot be moved. Therefore, when transferring disks 12 to or from magazine trays 36 of the racks 41, the disks 12 can be moved only one at a time by means of the access mechanism 17. It is highly inconvenient to insert, eject or exchange a large number of disks 1 one at a time since this requires a large amount of time and effort.
Another conventional storage device is shown in FIG. 15. This structure is basically the same as the above example in that a front storage portion 13 and a rear storage portion 14, which house disks 12, together with drive units 20, are disposed in the body case 11. The front storage portion 13 is located at the front part of the body case 11, and the rear storage portion 14 and the drive units 20 are located at the rear part of the body case 11. The transfer mechanism 15 is vertically moved by a vertical motion drive mechanism 16 disposed between the front storage portion 13 and the members located at the rear part, i.e. the rear storage portion 14 and the drive units 20. However, a double-hinged side door 42 is provided at the right side of the body case 11, where the vertical motion drive mechanism 16 is absent. Magazines 43, 44, which respectively constitute the front storage portion 13 and the rear storage portion 14, are adapted to be pulled out to the right.
The operation of the apparatus in FIG. 15 is discussed hereunder. The magazines 43, 44, respectively located at the front a rear parts of the body case 11 can be pulled out after opening the side door 42 at the side of the body case 11. By removing the magazines 43, 44, it is possible to conduct setting, ejection or exchange of all the disks 12 in a magazine collectively. The double hinged door 42 makes it possible to remove the rear magazine 43 and conduct setting, ejecting or exchange of the disks 12 located in the rear of the body case 11. The above discussed structure can reduce working time and make operation more convenient.
However, there are restrictions concerning the site of installation for an apparatus having the above structure because a double-hinged side door 42 requires a large clearance for opening and closing. Consequentially, it is not difficult to install the apparatus so that the side door 42 is located adjacent to a wall or another apparatus.
A disk changing apparatus of this type is often installed under a desk or in a similar space. The above structure requires that when changing magazines 43,44 is desired it is necessary for a user to crawl under the desk or take the body case 11 out of the space under the desk to expose the side door 42 to allow the user to open the side door 42 and change the magazines. However, as a power cable and various cables for exchanging data (not shown in the drawings) are connected to the back of the body case 11, moving the apparatus carelessly gives rise to considerable danger of these cables being inadvertently removed. Inadvertent removal of the cables is undesirable because it jeopardizes the safety of the apparatus and the data.